19 december 2009, late for the party

Tuesday 5th January 2010

My half-decent reason for missing the secret santa intro to the office party was being in at the creation for the signing of the declaration of independence of the republic of manchester. OK, it wasn’t quite the ending of the british mandate or the treaty of rome, but all manchester’s ten democratically-elected leaders turned up in bury and signed on the dotted line with a delighted looking minister, keeping us just about on track to become the uk’s only statutory city region before the election. Not that the vote should slow progress, as the official opposition are as noisy about localism as the government. I’ve quickly googled it now, and am amazed at the coverage and commentary. From signatures to sangrias, and to the office party, though I didn’t stick around to see if the snogfest of last year was repeated, though I certainly found myself on the liveliest table and learnt rather more than I probably wanted to know about some of our brighter sparks... Foolishly started with wine and so by 5ish my traditional banging headache had kicked in, but happily for once slept if off - and now the working year suddenly seems pretty much over.